Try to stay focused on why you decided to do this in the first place. Weather to make more money, broaden your horizons, or take a new career path, you need to be committed to your goal and have a clear outcome to work towards.

As for studying, first thing I’d do is have a consult with the professors. I would share my concerns and ask them the best way to prepare for the exams and to retain the info they are teaching.

Professors love that kind of stuff. Taking advantage of there office hours and showing an interest almost guarantees you one letter grade higher.

From a practical standpoint, I would really work on time management. Be sure to read the assigned chapters prior to class and to complete the assigned homework. These are the basics. Then, if you have time, do further reading on the subject and try to offer some of your own insights for discussion in class.

good luck.

You’re either there or your not. If you want it badly enough, you’ll do what it takes to get it. I am always in a “school mode” because I consider myself a lifelong learner. I don’t bother with pieces of paper (degrees) or worrying about someone else’s evaluation of me. I learn to do what needs to be done and I do it. I hate to take tests because tests rarely measure true ability. They measure how well you take tests and regurgitate what has been taught. I actually try to use what I learn and I’ve found that true learning comes by doing with hands on and that what is generally taught in books rarely applies in true practice. If you don’t believe me, then get a manual or get the instructions for a complicated piece of equipment and try to build it strictly from the instructions. Don’t think, don’t analyze just try to follow the instructions. The reason people learn by doing is because the important things are not written in the books. Like, for example, if you turn your lawnmower over to clean out the grass, always disconnect the spark plug because even though the mower is off, the clutch is centrifigal and if the spark plug is connected the mower can start by slightly moving or jarring the blade. Go get your lawnmower manual and see if that is written in there.

If you learn your business inside and out, your knowledge will be valuable and you can compete with people who have doctorates. If you compare the costs of the education to the money you have earned and the increases you have gotten by doing the job and doing it well and learning as you go, you’ll see that most people come out way ahead by working and earning money and doing than by getting a degree that costs them or the company money. I’ve actually proven to companies that good employees — people who are always “can do” and are “trainable” have provided more benefit to the company than those who have taken college courses at the company’s expense. The one exception to that is like apprenticeship programs or technology training specific to the equipment or business you are working in.